23. April 2026
Vanessa's story
Vanessa took one of my guided wardrobe edits by zoom earlier this month to help her with the transition to a new job. I have worked with Vanessa before – shopping, organising her wardrobe and even packed her suitcase for a holiday once (“I was amazed how many outfits I could make out of what you packed” she reminds me). But our session this month was one of back to basics in terms of defining her shape and what would enhance her features, as well as a rethink on a wardrobe to suit her role in retail management.
Vanessa has a personality that exudes both calm and energy, and her success in a corporate world will have been enhanced by her good choice in quality tailoring. The new role still requires a look of authority but allows Vanessa more freedom to show her ‘boho’ creativity.
The session, which took a couple of hours and was all done on zoom, was in three parts
1) A pre session chat about Vanessa’s shape and what would bring balance to this and make more of her shoulders and indeed her lovely long slender legs. Vanessa had sent me a pic in advance of her in tight fitting dark clothes so I could do the shape analysis before the session.
2) A work through Vanessa’s wardrobe, evaluating each item and whether it served her shape well, and if so, what else she would combine the item with. We managed to fill a couple of the 'donated with love' bags with items we were letting go (huge respect to Vanessa for her confidence here, she had spent a lot on some of these items).
3) An end of session review which, aside from asking Vanessa how she felt now, identified what items she could get to complement what she had in her wardrobe. (A belt and some long chunky boots.)
I know how difficult it is to let go of clothes that no longer fit or serve you well, but the new ‘donated with love’ bags given as part of this service worked really easily for Vanessa to pop things in ready for the charity shop. I also supply some ‘wardrobe reminders’ that are shown in the picture above. Often wardrobe edits allow you to discover new combinations, and these are a great way of keeping them in mind. You just scribble on the back (‘wear this with’) and slip onto your hangers.
Vanessa had a follow up email with everything we had learnt and some links to belts and boots I have chosen for her to consider.
“Liz was very patient and supportive during my wardrobe edit. She was complimentary about me and my dress sense, understanding what I like and want to achieve. Yet, she managed, in a very diplomatic way, to help me recognise where I had chosen clothes that were not the best style or design for me. If I were looking to buy a special outfit, I would definitely want Liz to come with me! (And we did a few years ago when looking for a special birthday dress.)”
Details of the wardrobe edit can be found on the website here and of course you can just email me too.